Unexpected

Last month, Literary Hub published a fascinating essay by graphic designer Linda Huang about the differences between hardcover and paperback book cover art. Ms. Huang works for Vintage & Anchor Books (the paperback imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group), and her essay points out that there are specific goals for paperback editions: to "reposition a book, capture a wider audience, or target a new market... [to] give books a second chance." I had never quite thought of paperback cover art in this way before, and this is why I'm always grateful when someone chooses to spotlight an area of the book industry that doesn't get much media coverage.